St. Agatha

Mk 6: 7-13

He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Disordered Attachments

Jesus asks his disciples “to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick.” This may be a practice of trust that will give us just what we need to walk the path of freedom with God.

St. Ignatius wrote about examining our freedom to choose God by challenging our attachments—objects, habits, activities and even people. Without being aware, we might choose an object of attachment over our search for God’s will and companionship. This erodes our ability to choose freely, to hear and respond to God’s callings.

Sometimes disordered attachments can be easily identified—addictions, obsessions, and self-proclaimed bad habits; yet even positive character attributes have a shadow side. For those with a strong sense of responsibility, making sure they are seen as dependable can become more important than meeting the needs of others, than responding with generosity in the moment.

We are called prayerfully to see our disorders openly and clearly; to admit the implications they have on our daily lives; to state our desire to move closer to God; and to ask for the grace to move with commitment along God’s path of freedom. A new spirit of generosity emerges without fail.

What attachment is preventing me from living my best life with God? Can I pray honestly and openly with that?

—Charlotte Ahern is a wife and mother of three college-aged children. She is also a spiritual director and retreat leader at Jesuit schools in the Chicago area.

St. Ignatius’s First Principle and Foundation says “The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit.” One of the ways in which we respond to the love God has given us is through prayer, not only personal prayer but community prayer as well.
The Pastoral Ministry Center invites members of our Strake Jesuit Community to share their prayers with us: their concerns, joys, thanksgivings, so that we may walk with them in all these times of their lives.

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St. Agatha

Mk 6: 7-13

He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Disordered Attachments

Jesus asks his disciples “to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick.” This may be a practice of trust that will give us just what we need to walk the path of freedom with God.

St. Ignatius wrote about examining our freedom to choose God by challenging our attachments—objects, habits, activities and even people. Without being aware, we might choose an object of attachment over our search for God’s will and companionship. This erodes our ability to choose freely, to hear and respond to God’s callings.

Sometimes disordered attachments can be easily identified—addictions, obsessions, and self-proclaimed bad habits; yet even positive character attributes have a shadow side. For those with a strong sense of responsibility, making sure they are seen as dependable can become more important than meeting the needs of others, than responding with generosity in the moment.

We are called prayerfully to see our disorders openly and clearly; to admit the implications they have on our daily lives; to state our desire to move closer to God; and to ask for the grace to move with commitment along God’s path of freedom. A new spirit of generosity emerges without fail.

What attachment is preventing me from living my best life with God? Can I pray honestly and openly with that?

—Charlotte Ahern is a wife and mother of three college-aged children. She is also a spiritual director and retreat leader at Jesuit schools in the Chicago area.